Cemetery

SAINT ROSE CEMETERY

The original Saint Rose cemetery was established in 1853 near the mouth of Yellowhawk Creek southeast of the Frenchtown site. In 1863, a second cemetery was established in the vicinity of the Frenchtown Historic Site along the banks of the Walla Walla River. The final Saint Rose cemetery was established on a hill at the site on January 10, 1876.

The last of the l7 recorded burials on Yellowhawk Creek was on February 3, 1856. The interred were all Native Americans who had converted to the Catholic faith. The exact location of that cemetery has not been identified.

In the second St. Rose cemetery established along the river in the vicinity of the Frenchtown site in 1863, church records show 18 burials through 1875, including Canadians of French descent, Métis, and Native Americans.Burials from that cemetery were later moved to the final cemetery on the hill due to flooding.

Fifty-seven new burials were recorded at the final Saint Rose Cemetery on the hill at Frenchtown from 1876-1893, primarily French-Canadians associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Walla Walla, their Indian, French, and Métis wives, and their descendants.Further burials are also reported to have been made there through 1912.

Those buried at the Saint Rose of Lima cemetery include members of the following families, including Native Americans Suzanne Cayouse Dauphin, Marie Baptiste Beauchemin, and Marianne Walla Walla Beauchemin, among others (spelling of names may differ)